Monday's Ask the Experts: VCT hazing

Monday''s Ask the Experts question from a cleaning professional on the International Custodial Advisors Network (ICAN) "Ask the Experts" page: I clean a restaurant floor that has VCT floors. They serve fried food from 11am until 8pm. The floor, after just being stripped not two weeks before, had a haze on it. Also, there seems to be some sort of grease or something on the floor. The floors are cleaned only ONCE a day at night.I am pretty sure that part of the problem stems from the store cleaning the floors only ONCE a day and the store owner will NOT clean it more than the once a day. I have no idea of how to clean. So, I guess my questions are: 1) Is there a cleaner that can clean the grease without stripping the finish, 2) What would you recommend for cleaning a floor such as this?

The answer:

I suspect your floor problem is residue from detergent and grease left on the tile after the mopping is done. The detergent may be a degreaser of some sort and highly alkaline, capable of damaging the finish. The first step is to find a detergent compatible with the floor finish you are using. Check your supplier or the manufacturer''s website. Secondly, recognize that the cooking oils and greases are found mainly in the frying area of the kitchen or food prep counter, and if this film is all over the floor, it is the custodial people leaving it there by poor mopping. The correction to this is to start ... — Lynn E. Krafft, ICAN/ATEX editor